Let’s Roll

By JoAnne Birkenfeld

Posted to Elegant Crochet With Designers
Permission

Are you ready to roll? Come on, it's easy! Let me tell you
how. If you already know how to crochet, you can learn this interesting
textured stitch in less than a day if you do it my way. One day............Will
you learn in one day or one day you will learn…......??

I have tried the bullion/roll stitch before and had BIG
problems. Couldn’t do it at all. One Wednesday night (July 9, 2003) at Bible
Study in a little Pentecostal Church as I was crocheting away – the thought
came to me – Let’s roll - so I thought – “Lord, I need help to do this awesome
stitch.” I knew the only way this gal was going to be able to do this stitch
was with divine intervention. So I rolled the yarn six times around my hook and
pulled the yarn right through!!!I
rolled the yarn over 10 times. Went right through again!! I rolled the yarn
over 20 times – no problem!!! I was thrilled – I am a Holy Roller!! Hallelujah
and thank you Jesus!!

Roll/Bullion
Stitch Tips:

·Making Roll/Bullions-first off... you have to pray. (And it
probably wouldn’t hurt to go to church too)

·I use my 2nd favorite hook – Susan
Bates - and it work really well, There is plenty of room on the handle – I have
wrapped yo 15 times with no problems.

·The key is to yo very loosely and evenly. Put all
the yo’s in the center of your hook handle and twist the handle around a little
bit until all the rolls on it are all even and loose. When they are all even,
slide the rolls down toward the hook.

·Wiggle the hook some while you are pulling the
yarn through, while holding the rolls with your left hand, pinching the base of
the rolls to hold it in place.

·You want to be careful that you don’t split a
stitch as you are pulling the yarn through the rolls. If you make a mistake it
is no big deal – they are really easy to redo.

·Remember: wrap loose, twist and pinch and then
wiggle the hook!!!!

In an original
1920 publication the bullion stitch is called the roll stitch. In a publication
from 1895 the bullion stitch is called the rice stitch. It's an old stitch that
through the years has been called by various picturesque names: the Caterpillar
stitch, the Worm stitch, the Coil stitch, and the Puerto Rico Rose stitch,
among others. Now here in 2003 Annie’s Attic is saying it is a new stitch and
they are calling it the roll stitch again.